Deals & People April 7, 2014

AllianceBernstein Adds to DC Business Team

AllianceBernstein LP, a global investment management firm, announced that Roberta Matheny has joined the firm as vice president and senior client service officer.
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Matheny will be responsible for servicing existing institutional clients and for supporting the growth of the firm’s defined contribution (DC) business. She will report to Ray Decker, who leads AllianceBernstein’s client relationship management efforts for institutional DC clients as managing director. In her new role, Matheny will focus on servicing and growing the firm’s $20 billion client base of customized target-date and lifetime income strategies.

“Given the importance of the DC business to our firm, we’ve made several enhancements to strengthen and support the team and bringing on Roberta is one of them,” says Dick Davies, senior managing director of AllianceBernstein’s DC business and co-head of North American Institutions, who is based in New York. “Roberta brings a deep understanding of retirement plan services and she will be an integral part of our efforts to build on our success in customized retirement solutions and lifetime income.”

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Matheny joins AllianceBernstein from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, where she was most recently a client adviser for Retirement Plan Services, responsible for managing large and mega corporate client relationships totaling more than $4.6 billion in retirement plan assets. Prior that role, she held various senior roles at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, including vice president of Institutional Asset Management Sales for J.P. Morgan Fleming Asset Management Group.

Matheny graduated from Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a bachelor’s of business administration.

Compliance April 7, 2014

Not All Retirement Plans Must Be Amended for Windsor

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released guidance on the treatment of marriages of same-gender couples with regard to retirement plans.
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IRS Notice 2014-19 provides further instruction for qualified retirement plans about the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor. Specifically, the notice:

  • Gives examples of Internal Revenue Code requirements under which the marital status of the participants is relevant to the payment of benefits;
  • Provides guidance about how to satisfy those requirements in light of Windsorand Revenue Ruling 2013-17; and
  • Describes when retirement plans must be amended to comply with Windsor, Revenue Ruling 2013-17, and IRS Notice 2014-19.

After the Windsor decision, the IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2013-17 (see “Same-Sex Marriages Recognized for Tax Purposes”), which says married same-gender couples are treated as married for all federal tax purposes where marriage is a factor, if the couple is lawfully married under the laws of: one of the 50 states; the District of Columbia; a U.S. territory; or a foreign jurisdiction. The new Notice 2014-19 gives additional guidance about how qualified retirement plans should treat the marriages of same-sex couples.

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Notice 2014-19 calls for a retirement plan to be amended if its plan provisions are inconsistent with the Windsor decision. For instance, if its terms are inconsistent with either Windsor or Revenue Ruling 2013-17, a plan must be amended if it defines “spouse” by reference to Section 3 of Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), or only as a person of the opposite sex.

According to the IRS, not all plans need to be amended in order to be in compliance. An amendment generally is not required if a plan’s terms are not inconsistent with Windsor or with Revenue Ruling 2013-17.

The IRS notes in the new notice that where amendments are required, plan must adopt them by the later of December 31, 2014, or the applicable date under the IRS’ general amendment guidance for qualified retirement plans, Revenue Procedure 2007-44.

A copy of IRS Notice 2014-19 can be downloaded here.

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